Gas-blast circuit interrupter with gas reservoir inclosed in supporting terminal bushing



Oct. 26, 1965 s. TAYLOR 3,214,551 GAS-BLAST CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER WITH GAS RESERVOIR INCLOSED IN SUPPORTING TERMINAL BUSHING Filed Dec. 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet .1

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COM PRESSOR WITNESSES INVENTOR wfi mfim Sidney Taylor aww M ATTORNEY Oct. 26, 1965 s. TAYLOR 3,214,551

GAS-BLAST CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER WITH GAS RESERVOIR INGLOSED IN SUPPORTING TERMINAL BUSHING Filed Dec. 27, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent C) 177/62 4 Claims. (Cl. 200-148) This invention relates generally to compressed-gas circuit interrupters and, more particularly, to improvedarcextinguishing structures and gas-blast reservoirs therefor.

A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified type of compressed-gas circuit interrupter highly efiicient in operation and of compact dimensions.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved compressed-gas circuit interrupter in which the terminal-bushing means associated there'- with has a dual function, namely, supplying line current to the arc-extinguishing assemblage and also constituting a high-pressure gas reservoir therefor.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved compressed-gas circuit interrupter of the grounded tank type, in which a pair of'spaced terminal bushings extend into the grounded tank and support interiorly therein a longitudinally-extending arc-extinguishing assemblage. Preferably, at least one of the terminal bushings constitutes a high-pressure gas reservoir for containing a high-pressure gas' suitable, through the control of an associated blast valve, to force a blast of high-pressure gas toward the arc-extinguishing assemblage during a circuit-interrupter opening operation.

Briefly, the present invention contemplates the. provision of a high-pressure gasreservoir by utilizing the hollow conductor stud extending longitudinally through the associated terminal bushing. According to another aspect of the present invention, the blast-valve means for controlling the blasting of high-pressure gas out of the hollow conductor stud of the terminal bushing is secured, and fixedly clamped into place at the interior end of the terminal bushing, which projects within an associated tank enclosure.

Further objects and advantages will readily become apparent upon reading the following specification, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an end elevational view of a gas-blast type of circuit interrupter embodying features of the present invention;

FIG; 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the grounded'tank structure of FIG. 1 showing the general location of the blast-valve assembly;

FIG. 3 is a considerably enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the right-hand end of the tank structure of FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrating the position of the several parts during an opening operation; and,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary portion of the operating mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the reference numeral 1 generally designates a three-phase compressed-gas circuit interrupter of the grounded tank type. FIG. 1 shows only the end ICC tank of the three-phase assembly; however, it will be observed that there are two adjoining tank assemblies 2, and all three tank assemblies are simultaneously actuated by a common operating mechanism disposed within a mechanism compartment 3.

Extending vertically upwardly from the tank structures 2 are cylindrical supports 4, 5 in turn supporting upstandin'g terminal bushings 6, 7. Line connections L L are secured to the outer extremities of the terminal bushings 6, 7 and are controlled by the operation of an arc-extinguishing assemblage, generally designated by the ref erence numeral 8, and more clearly shown in FIGS., 2 and 3 of the drawings.

As will be apparent from FIG. 2, the arc-extinguishing assemblage 8 is preferably at least partially supported by the interior ends of the terminal bushings 6, 7. There may, however, be additional supports for the higher-volt age ratings where the arc-extinguishing assemblage assumes considerable length.

With reference to FIG. 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that generally, the multi-break arc-extinguishing assemblage 8, supported at the lower interior ends of the terminal bushings 6, 7, comprises a plurality of gasblast arc-extinguishing units 9 disposed in series relation. Each of the gas-blast arc-extinguishing units 9 preferably includes a pair of separable cooperable contacts 11, 12 cooperable to establish an are 13. The extinction of the established are 13 is preferably brought about by the utilization of a gas blast controlled by a blast valve 15, which is secured to the lower'end of the terminal bushing 7, as shown.

As set forth more fully in U.S. Pat'ent'3,057,983, issued October'9, 1962, to Russell N. Yeckley, Joseph Sucha and Benjamin P. Baker, and assigned to the Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the several arc-extinguishing units 9 are simultaneously actuated by a crank-arm assembly 17, which has one arm 18 pivotally secured, as at 19, to an operating rod 20. The operating rod 20 is pivotally secured to a crank, not shown, associated with the wall 2A of the tank structure 2 and is externally actuated by the mechanism disposed within the mechanism compart ment 3 (FIG. 1).

Generally, the movable contact assemblage 16 comprises a pair of longitudinally-extending operating rods, more fully shown in FIG. 4, and having cross-bars 23 fixedly secured thereto. Adjacent the mid-portion of the cross-bars 23 are the movable contacts 12. As a result, the longitudinal reciprocal opening and closing movement of the operating rods will, in turn, eifect corresponding movement of the cross-bars 23 and opening and closing movement of the several serially-related movable contacts 12.

To assist in directing a flow of arc-extinguishing gas from a high-pressure reservoir 25, comprising the hollow conducting terminal stud 26 extending longitudinally through the terminal bushing 7, there are preferably provided orifice structures 28 which effectively direct the gas blast adjacent the established arcs 13 in a manner indicated by the arrows 29. It will be apparent that the exhausted gas is collected within the main exhaust tank 2. In the case of utilization of a relatively expensive arcextinguishing gas, such as sulfur-hexafluoride (SP gas, suitable compressor means (FIG. 1) is employed to extract the relatively low-pressure gas within the tank structure 2 and to recompress it to the high-pressure'level necessary for maintaining the requisite pressure within the high-pressure storage tank 25. For this purpose, an inlet insulating pipe 30 may interconnect the supporting flange portion 31 with the hollow conductor stud 26, the latter having an opening provided through the side wall portion thereof. In the case where relatively few operations are required, the high-pressure reservoir 25, comprising the hollow conductor stud 26, may be charged with gas at the upper end thereof, when the breaker is open and this end is grounded, and there would, in such a case, be no necessity for supplying or furnishing the inlet pipe 30.

It is a very important feature of the present invention to utilize the hollow conducting stud 26, or a portion of the terminal bushing 7 itself, as the high pres- :sure reservoir 25. By so doing, the terminal bushing 7 performs the dual function of not only supplying current to the arc-extinguishing assemblage 8, but, additionally, providing the gas reservoir tank therefor.

The hollow insulating shell 21 surrounding the lower end of the terminal stud 26 has a gasket 21a interposed between the lower end thereof and an angle-shaped conducting support bracket 22. The support bracket 22 assists in supporting the assemblage 8 and has an aperture 22a provided therethrough, through which the hollow terminal stud 26 extends, and is clamped by a lower support clamp 27 threadedly secured to the lower end of the hollow terminal stud 26. The blast valve casing 33 may be clamped by bolts 38 to an apertured flange portion 27a of the ring clamp 27, as shown in FIG. 3. A blast tube extension 33611 is supported by the support bracket 22, and has the gas flow therethrough controlled by the blast valve 15. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that in the case of utilizing a relatively cheap gas, such as compressed air, there need be no necessity for employing the surrounding exhaust tank structure 2, and merely a supporting frame-work could be employed to support the terminal bushings 6, 7. Such a supporting framework, could, of course, be of a relatively open construction. The important feature of the invention is the use of the terminal bushings 6, 7 as a high-pressure storage tank, particularly utilizing as a portion thereof the highvoltage hollow conducting stud 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flow of gas from the storage tank 25 is controlled by operation of the blast valve -15. This blast valve may be operated in many different ways, that shownin' thedrawing, merely providing a reduction of the gas pressure on the rear side 15a, so as to effect opening rightward movement thereof against the opposition afforded by the compression spring 34. The reduction of pressure to the rear of the blast valve 15 may be effected by energization of a blastvalve opening solenoid 36 to correspondingly effect opening of an exhaust valve 37. As will be apparent, the opening of the exhaust valve 37 will permit the exhausting of the high-pressure gas in back of the blast-valve piston 15a to exhaust through the outlet opening 40 whereby the. gas pressure acting upon the flange portion 15b will effect rightward opening movement of the blast valve 15, and consequent blasting of gas through the several interrupting units 9. As shown, the interrupting units 9 may employ an axially-extending blastvalve manifold structure 42 having interconnecting blast valve inlets 43 to the several arc-extinguishing units 9.

It is within the purview of the present invention to utilize both of the terminal bushings 6, 7 as hi-gh-pressure reservoirs and to effect an additional exhaust connection 44 directed to the space in back of the blast valve 15 associated with the lower interior end of the terminal bushing 6. As will be obvious, the outlet of such a blast valve could feed directly into the manifold structure 42 to assist the blast valve 15 of bushing 7 in supplying high-pressure gas to the manifold during the open ing operation. The blast-valve construction associated with the lower end of the terminal bushing 6 could be identical to that illustrated in FIG. 3 associated with the right-hand bushing 7, and the pressure in back of both blast valves could be connected to a common exhaust valve 37.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there is provided an improved compressed-gas circuit interrupter in which the terminal-bushing means associated with the interrupter is simultaneously used as a gas storage reservoir. A portion of the terminal-bushing means, such as the hollow conductor stud 26, may be charged with gas as a single operation, where the circuit interrupter is operated relatively few times. On the other hand, where many operations are contemplated, a separate feed pipe, such as the feed pipe illustrated in FIG. 1, may be provided to constantly maintain a requisite high-pressure level within the hollow conducting stud 26 Although there has been illustrated and described specific structures, it is to be clearly understood that the same were merely for the purpose of illustration, and that changes and modifications may readily be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A compressed-gas circuit interrupter including a pair of spaced terminal bushings each having a hollow conductor stud extending therethrough, a multi-break arc-extinguishing assemblage including an axially-extending manifold structure supported by said spaced pair of terminal bushings, said arc-extinguishing assemblage including a plurality of arc-extinguishing units each having a pair of separable contacts, said manifold structure serving to supply compressed gas to all the units during an interrupting operation, a high-pressure gas reservoir associated with each terminal bushing and including at least a portion of the respective hollow conductor stud, a blastvalve disposed adjacent the supporting end of each terminal bushing and operable to release a blast of high-pressure gas from the respective high-pressure gas reservoir of the respective bushing into the manifold structure, and means for operating the two blast valves in unison, whereby the entire axial length of the manifold structure will more rapidly fill up for effective blasting purposes.

2. A compressed-gas circuit interrupter including a grounded metallic tank having a pair of spaced terminal bushings extending therein, each terminal bushing having a hollow conductor stud extending therethrough, a multi-break arc-extinguishing assemblage including an axially-extending manifold structure disposed within the metallic tank and supported by said spaced pair of terminal bushings, said arc-extinguishing assemblage including a plurality of arc-extinguishing units each having a pair of separable contacts, said manifold structure serving to supply compressed gas to all the units during an interrupting operation, a high-pressure gas reservoir associated with each terminal bushing and including at least a portion of the respective hollow conductor stud, a blastvalve disposed adjacent the supporting end of each terminal bushing and operable to release a blast of highpressure gas from the respective high-pressure gas reservoir of the respective bushing into the manifold structure, and means for operating the two blast valves in unison, whereby the entire axial length of the manifold structure will more rapidly fill up for effective blasting purposes.

3. A compressed-gas circuit interrupter including means defining an exhaust tank, a terminal bushing extending into said exhaust tank and having a hollow conductor stud extending longitudinally through the terminal bushing, an arc-extinguishing unit at least partially supported by the interior end of said terminal bushing and including a pair of separable contacts, said terminal "bushing including a hollow insulating shell and an angleshaped conducting support bracket (22) abutting one end of said hollow insulating shell, said hollow conductor stud extending through an aperture within said angleshaped conducting support bracket, a support clamp on the opposite side of the bracket from said shell, said hollow conductor stud constituting a high-pressure gas reservoir chamber, a blast valve including a blast-valve casing secured to said support clamp and controlling a blast of high-pressure gas from said hollow conductor stud toward said pair of separable contacts.

4. The combinaiton according to claim 3, wherein the blast-valve casing includes a blast-tube extension supported by said support bracket.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS KATHLEEN H. CLA-FFY, \Primary Examiner.

ROBERT SCHAE-FER, BERNARD A. GILHEANY,

Examiners. 

1. A COMPRESSED-GAS CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER INCLUDING A PAIR OF SPACED TERMINAL BUSHINGS EACH HAVING A HOLLOW CONDUCTOR STUD EXTENDING THERETHROUGH, A MULTI-BREAK ARC-EXTINGUSHING ASSEMBLAGE INCLUDING AN AXIALLY-EXTENDING MANIFOLD STRUCTURE SUPPORTED BY SAID SPACED PAIR OF TERMINAL BUSHINGS, SAID ARC-EXTINGUISHING ASSEMBLAGE INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ARC-EXTINGUISHING UNITS EACH HAVING A PAIR OF SEPARABLE CONTACTS, SAID MANIFOLD STRUCTURE SERVING TO SUPPLY COMPRESSED GAS TO ALL THE UNITS DURING AN INTERRUPTING OPERATION, A HIGH-PRESSURE GAS RESERVOIR ASSOCIATED WITH EACH TERMINAL BUSHING AND INCLUDING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE RESPECTIVE HOLLOW CONDUCTOR STUD A BLAST-VALVE DISPOSED ADJACENT THE SUPPORTING END OF EACH TERMINAL BUSHING AND OPERABLE TO RELEASE A BLAST OF HIGH-PRESSURE GAS FROM THE RESPECTIVE HIGH-PRESSURE GAS RESERVOIR OF THE RESPECTIVE BUSHING INTO THE MANIFOLD 